Monthly Archives: February 2013

Norma Klein often shares space with Judy Blume on the American Library Association’s list of “most frequently challenged or banned books”; Blume was in fact the editor of an anthology that featured banned and challenged authors, including Klein. But while … Continue reading →

Michael Ritchie’s Ford-era satire of beauty pageants, consumer culture, and suburbia as a Teenpic? Well, the so-called adults come off as deluded, lecherous, ineffectual, or just plain buffoons, while the audience’s sympathy is with the awkward teenagers, so I’d say … Continue reading →

I’m not sure if any of Judy Blume’s work exactly qualifies as a “lost classic”: the author’s 40+ years of work in the YA field seems as popular and relevant as ever. This is the one volume that doesn’t quite … Continue reading →

Does anything say Valentine’s Day like enormous, room-filling IBMs crunching numbers to determine your Dream Date? It is the time of year where your day is ruined because of peer pressure to cough up two dollars for your official Data … Continue reading →

Background: “M.E. Kerr” is one of a half-dozen pseudonyms of the incredibly prolific Marijane Meaker, whose 60+ year career includes scores of novels, short stories and non-fiction collections across a number of genres (as Vin Packer she penned the inaugural … Continue reading →

Not generally being actual teenagers, the editors of teen mags have the unenviable task of walking the line between being hip, but not trying so hard that they spin back around to being totally uncool. Try too hard and you … Continue reading →